Decentralized ledger supply chain planning interchange

ABSTRACT

A data structure for a decentralized ledger interchange object includes: a first data field containing an identifier for an item; a set of second data fields linked to the first data field, each second field containing one of a set of time periods; a set of third data fields, each third data field linked to a corresponding second data field, each third data fields containing a requested quantity of the item for a corresponding time period; and a set of fourth data fields, each fourth data field linked to the corresponding second data field, each fourth data field containing a committed quantity of the item for the corresponding time period. The decentralized ledger interchange object can used in a computer system, a computerized method for time-based manufacturing, a computerized method for time-based pricing and other systems, devices and methods.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 62/809,552 filed on Feb. 22, 2019 and entitled DistributedLedger Planning Interchange, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH

This application is not the subject of any federally sponsored researchor development.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to the field of supply chainmanagement, and more particularly, to a distributed ledger planninginterchange.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is describedin connection with supply chain management and in particular Sales andOperation Planning (S&OP).

Activities in supply chains make up two thirds of the global GDP. Thatis 54 Trillion dollars of activity. Although many activities make upthese supply chains, it is quite reasonable to state the heart of anysupply chain is production, manufacturing and the enabler of any singleplant is its supply chain production plan. Although there has beenprogress in sharing finished inventory levels, selling others inventory(Amazon) or categorizing and tracking inventory in a warehouse, therehas been essentially zero progress in the last twenty years incoordinating production plans between facilities, entities, companiesand geographies.

Nearly all this work is still done manually on spreadsheets, emails,white boards and phone calls. This is despite possibly billions ofdollars invested in enterprise ERP, planning technology and variousforms of communications technologies. While in theory, a centralizedtechnology architecture is OK for an enterprise, it is fundamentallyflawed as all enterprise operate outside their financial accountingdomain to some degree and many operate completely outside theiraccounting domain (nearly 100% outsourced). In the last ten years, a fewfirms have attempted to become a centralized “exchange” for supply chainproduction and inventory, but they have failed mostly due to the factthat by the time is data is copied and shared in a third party locationit is stale, old, disjointed and suboptimal, which leads to excessiveworking capital and capacity contingency buffers. Despite bold promisesby waves of technologies since the Internet exploded on the scene, mostof this cross-enterprise coordination of production is done via emailingof spreadsheets, whiteboards and phone calls. This lack of a flexibleloosely coupled exchange is a major constraint to growth of industryproductivity and reduction of working capital exposure in companies ofall sizes and all industries.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,395 discloses a system for extended enterpriseplanning across a supply chain. The system includes transactionalexecution system layers for a demand enterprise and a supply enterprise.First and second federated electronic planning interchange layersprovide a data specification format and an external communicationinterface for transactional execution System layers. A supply chainplanning engine, operable to perform planning for the Supply chain, isin communication with a third federated electronic planning interchangelayer which provides a data specification format and an externalcommunication interface for the supply chain planning engine. A dataaccess/transfer layer interconnects and allows transfer of informationbetween the first, second and third electronic federated planninginterchange layers. The supply chain planning engine, the firsttransactional execution system and the second transactional executionsystem can thereby communicate data which the supply chain planningengine can use to provide constraint based extended enterprise planningacross the supply chain.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,534 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2010/0262581 disclose an order commitment method and system. The methodincludes the steps of identifying services and data capable ofsupporting an order commitment (or recently called Sales and OperationsExecution (SOE)), and mapping the services to enable synchronizedon-demand queries. The mapping step includes determining relationshipsamong the services and the data and maintaining the relationships,wherein links are established to create fulfillment information. Themethod also includes using the fulfillment information to generate theorder commitment.

The foregoing patents are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a BPI (blockchain planning interchange)object or standard blockchain definition that can be used in a masterproduction plan (e.g., a spreadsheet, a database controlled planningsystem, etc.) that an entity wishes to communicate and receive acommitment on. In its broadest form it is a portion of data in an array.For example, a portion of a multiparty spreadsheet can be disseminated,acted on and then communicated back to the original owner with theappropriate time stamps, version stamps, permissions, hierarchy ofimportance such that an off chain application can reassemble it back toits original form but with the feedback and knowledge of the looselycoupled distributed/decentralized participants. This loosely coupledspreadsheet-like object is highly differentiated from centralizedsystems sharing a spreadsheet using online database record and celllocking technologies.

The BPI object and similar objects can be used for open purchase orders,available inventory, in-transit inventory, open orders that becomeinstantiated in blocks to create a time synchronized record of keyexecution data and planning data for all nodes in the block (e.g.,companies, planning locations, etc.). Thus, by simply using theblockchain data-sharing ecosystem this time synchronized and scrubbeddata warehouse of data becomes available for a node. These nodes arethus infinitely scalable up or down based on sharing and synchronizationof core data. The BPI object provides tremendous amounts of keyproduction data and forecast data to be uncovered when needed andconnected to the decentralized S&OP process and decentralized planningtools. This improves overall customer service and provides efficient useof working capital and assets.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a non-transitory computerreadable medium that when executed by a processor provides a datastructure for a decentralized ledger interchange object, which is alsoreferred to as the BPI object. The decentralized ledger interchangeobject includes: a first data field containing an identifier for anitem; a set of second data fields linked to the first data field, eachsecond field containing one of a set of time periods; a set of thirddata fields, each third data field linked to a corresponding second datafield, each third data fields containing a requested quantity of theitem for a corresponding time period; and a set of fourth data fields,each fourth data field linked to the corresponding second data field,each fourth data field containing a committed quantity of the item forthe corresponding time period.

In one aspect, the data structure further includes a set of fifth datafields, each fifth data field linked to the corresponding second datafield, each fifth data field containing a price for the correspondingtime period. In another aspect, the data structure further includes oneor more sixth data fields linked to the first data field, each sixthdata field containing one or more terms and conditions, one or morespecifications for the item, a shipping and handling price, a taxamount, a link to other data or information stored remotely, or a linkto other decentralized ledger interchange objects. In another aspect,the first data field, the set of second data fields, and the set ofthird data fields are filled in by a first processor, and the set offourth data fields are filled in by a second processor. In anotheraspect, the first data field, the set of second data fields and the setof third data fields, and the set of fourth data fields are configuredfor automatic input into or export from a sales and operations planningsystem. In another aspect, the first data field, the set of second datafields and the set of third data fields, and the set of fourth datafields are configured for automatic input into or export from a salesplan, an inventory plan, a customer lead time plan, a new productdevelopment plan, a strategic initiative plan, or a financial plan. Inanother aspect, the first data field, the set of second data fields andthe set of third data fields, and the set of fourth data fields areconfigured for automatically updating an electronic commerceapplication. In another aspect, the identifier for the item comprises astock keeping unit number, a production unit number, a part number, or amodel number. In another aspect, the decentralized ledger interchangeobject is configured for use in a decentralized ledger. In anotheraspect, the decentralized ledger can be hyper ledger, blockchain, quorumor other known or unknown decentralized ledger. In another aspect, thedecentralized ledger interchange object is detachable from thedecentralized ledger. In another aspect, the detached decentralizedledger interchange object is reconcilable back to a source of thedecentralized ledger interchange object. In another aspect, the detacheddecentralized ledger interchange object is synchronized with otherinformation without a link to the source of the decentralized ledgerinterchange object. In another aspect, the decentralized ledgerinterchange object is an asynchronous data object that isself-reconciling.

Tools have been developed to extract, transform and load the BPI objectin and out of the source and destination planning systems. This could beas simple as transposing the BPI block object to a spreadsheet CSV fileor other format that maintains the array structure in and out of sourceand target systems.

The foundation of the BPI object is the ability to break down anymaterial (inventory production) plan for any purpose into a lowestcommon denominator (much like DNA is the basis of genetic material, theBPI object is the basis of the material plan). However this BPI objectcan be transmitted, reassembled with others into any S&OP or othermaterial planning system. The breakthrough of this process is similar tothe breakthrough of ANSI and EDIFACT electronic data exchange butfocused on more complex array-based information that requires time-basedreconciliation. This basic array of plan data is the foundation of anymaterial planning, manufacturing scheduling, manufacturing planning,supply chain planning and in particular S&OP planning system. The BPIobject opens up the ability for planning systems from any source, suchas a simple spreadsheet to an expensive in memory dedicated supply chainplanning system, to interchange inputs and outputs rapidly. Furthermore,this rapid interchange can become conversational allowing for businessowners, planners and customers to test feasibility of plans vs. leadtimes and quantities exponentially faster. To be clear this is not “realtime” but more in the vein of people time. This allows for the samerequest, promise, proforma testing then commitment that people need andwant to make business and operational commitments. In summary, BPIobject connected to decentralized blockchain or other networks providesfor a conversational request and promise negotiation and updates betweenbuyers and sellers dramatically improving efficiency of the entiresupply chain network system.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer system thatuses a decentralized ledger includes: a first computer system comprisingone or more first processors; one or more second computer systems, eachsecond computer system comprising one or more second processors; the oneor more first processors (a) generate a first decentralized ledgerinterchange object, (b) generate a first block for the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object, (c) insert the first block ontothe decentralized ledger, and (d) make the first block visible to theone or more second computer systems; the one or more second processors(a) access the first decentralized ledger interchange object in thefirst block of decentralized ledger, (b) generate a second decentralizedledger interchange object based on the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object, (c) generate a second block for the seconddecentralized ledger object, (d) insert the second block onto thedecentralized ledger, and (e) make the second block visible to the firstcomputer system; and the first and second decentralized ledgerinterchange objects comprise an identifier for an item, a set of timeperiods, a requested quantity of the item for each time period, and acommitted quantity of the item for each time period.

In one aspect, the first and second decentralized ledger objects furthercomprise a price for each time period. In another aspect, the first andsecond decentralized ledger objects further comprise one or more termsand conditions, one or more specifications for the item, a shipping andhandling price, a tax amount, a link to other data or information storedremotely, or a link to other decentralized ledger interchange objects.In another aspect, the one or more first processors generate at leastone cryptographic key for the second computer system, and encrypt thefirst block using the cryptographic key, and the cryptographic keyenables the one or more second processors to view blocks on thedistributed ledger and to insert blocks onto the distributed ledger. Inanother aspect, the one or more first processors input the identifierfor the item, the set of time periods, and the requested quantity of theitem for each time period into the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object, and the one or more second processors input thecommitted quantity of the item for each time period into the seconddecentralized ledger interchange object. In another aspect, the one ormore first processors generate the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object using data from a sales and operations planningsystem, and update the sales and operations planning system using datafrom the second decentralized ledger interchange object. In anotheraspect, the one or more first processors reconcile and synchronize thesecond decentralized ledger object received from multiple secondcomputer systems. In another aspect, the first decentralized ledgerobject and the second decentralized ledger object are automaticallyinput into or exported from a sales plan, an inventory plan, a customerlead time plan, a new product development plan, a strategic initiativeplan, or a financial plan. In another aspect, the first decentralizedledger object and the second decentralized ledger object a exported to astatic non-network production system or supply chain system as a directdata feed to synchronize future inventory requirements from anotherparty, source, block, node or location. In another aspect, the seconddecentralized ledger object is used to automatically update anelectronic commerce application. In another aspect, the decentralizedledger is used as a source of data in a manufacturing process, a supplychain, a sales and operations planning time series plan, or a schedule.

The emergence of this new BPI object into the decentralized networkalong other various S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) engines can beused to accomplish methods of fulfillment/manufacturing such aspostponed manufacturing. The theory and execution of postponedmanufacturing keeps a finished good in semi-finished component form.When an order is selected for final colors, configurations, etc. theunit is assembled, packaged and shipped. The entire nature of the BPIobject that can represent finished components available over time andlinks to their planning bill of material could be a tremendous massmarket boost in ability for more firms to not just theorize but executeon postponed manufacturing fulfillment operations. This ability to sharethe planning bill of material of a target assembly rapidly and easilyupstream and down stream in production along with thelogistics/fulfillment providers opens opportunity to dramaticallyimprove productivity and profitability for ALL participants in thesupply chain network.

Cross company postponed manufacturing would leverage the BPI object andBPI object of components to coordinate a final SKU based on key materiallocated and owned by multiple financial entities in multiple locations.For example, a computer order committed yet the hard drive, the circuitboard, the case etc. are all in different company warehouses still ownedby those entities. Upon order the BPI object and other key informationare used to commit a lead time and start the final assembly for shipmentto a customer.

Assembly coordination is a more specialized and detailed use case of theOrder Commit application. It would also be a more focused use of thecross company postponed manufacturing. It can be implemented as aservice for “builders”, “assemblers” of all types from construction, tomanufacturing to any type of work requiring more than one item tocomplete an order or task. A consumer example might be finding all thecomponents required to remodel a kitchen from dozens of suppliers,locations, warehouses or to be built in production (a BPI object array).Assembly coordination would then identify one or more sources of eachitem but also use the static of dynamic lead times to arrive to completefinal project. AC would then push and pull order lead times to make sureno one item of many would constrain the order of the build. So, kitchencabinets need to arrive before a dishwasher and sink before a waterfaucet and flooring before cabinets, etc. Again, this is a process everymanufacturer/constructor/distributor tries to do today but is limited bythe time and project management expertise and experience of the humansinvolved. The BPI object enabled plans would still depend on humandecisions but would allow for the synchronization of broad heterogeneousinformation form “N” number of suppliers to be organized and presentedexponentially more rapidly for decision making. There is much discussionabout algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning in businessprocesses however all of these require the data to be normalized beforeeffective use. The BPI object is the precursor to organize the “DNA ofplans” and when organized, the human planner or business team is muchmore effective in optimizing outcomes than machine algorithms. It isanticipated that many lower level repetitive tasks, such as cleaninginput supply chain execution data, can benefit from the BPI object alongwith machine learning to further allow for the synchronization of thesupply chain network that yields dramatic improvement in supply chainworking capital requirements and increases in productivity across saidnetworks.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a computerized methodfor time-based manufacturing includes: providing a first computer systemcomprising one or more first processors; generating a firstdecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more firstprocessors, wherein the first decentralized ledger interchange objectcomprises an identifier for an item, a set of time periods, a requestedquantity of the item for each time period, and a committed quantity ofthe item for each time period; generating a first block for the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more firstprocessors; inserting the first block onto the decentralized ledgerusing the one or more first processors; making the first block visibleto one or more second computer systems using the one or more firstprocessors; accessing a second block on decentralized ledger, whereinthe second block is created by one or more second processors of thesecond computer system based on the first block; and using data from thesecond block to create or modify a manufacturing schedule.

In one aspect, the method further includes: accessing the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object in the first block ofdecentralized ledger using the one or more second processors; generatingthe second decentralized ledger interchange object based on the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more secondprocessors; generating a second block for the second decentralizedledger object using the one or more second processors; inserting thesecond block onto the decentralized ledger using the one or more secondprocessors; and making the second block visible to the first computersystem. In another aspect, the first and second decentralized ledgerobjects further comprise a price for each time period. In anotheraspect, the first and second decentralized ledger objects furthercomprise one or more terms and conditions, one or more specificationsfor the item, a shipping and handling price, a tax amount, a link toother data or information stored remotely, or a link to otherdecentralized ledger interchange objects. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: generating at least one cryptographic key for thesecond computer system; encrypting the first block using thecryptographic key; and the cryptographic key enables the one or moresecond processors to view blocks on the distributed ledger and to insertblocks onto the distributed ledger. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: inputting the identifier for the item, the set of timeperiods, and the requested quantity of the item for each time periodinto the first decentralized ledger interchange object using the one ormore processors; and inputting the committed quantity of the item foreach time period into the second decentralized ledger interchange objectusing the one or more second processors. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: generating the first decentralized ledger interchangeobject using data from a sales and operations planning system; andupdating the sales and operations planning system using data from thesecond decentralized ledger interchange object. In another aspect, themethod further includes reconciling and synchronizing the seconddecentralized ledger object received from multiple second computersystems. In another aspect, the method further includes: automaticallyexporting data from a sales plan, an inventory plan, a customer leadtime plan, a new product development plan, a strategic initiative plan,or a financial plan into the first decentralized ledger object; andautomatically inputting data from the second decentralized ledger objectinto the sales plan, the inventory plan, the customer lead time plan,the new product development plan, the strategic initiative plan, or thefinancial plan. In another aspect, the method further includesautomatically updating an electronic commerce application using thesecond decentralized ledger object. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes coordinating and synchronizing one or more productionarrays of data using the first decentralized ledger object or the seconddecentralized ledger object. In another aspect, the method furtherincludes rationalizing, synchronizing and coordinating two or moreindependent decentralized distributed concurrent plans the firstdecentralized ledger object or the second decentralized ledger object.

One embodiment of the present invention (e.g., the BPI object andnetwork enabled S&OP) provides scalable time based pricing. Very simply,the more time you give a manufacturer to make and produce an item, thebetter pricing (cost) you should receive. Although hotels and airlinesuse yield management software, current systems have not been able toprovide yield-based production and manufacturing. The BPI object makesthis possible. For example, the pricing of physical goods aroundholidays could vary based on increased demand and the likelihood ofdelivery problems. In essence, it would be a reservation of a BPI objectin a time-phased array that is committed to a buyer. For example, amanufacturer that implements an embodiment of the present invention withS&OP, can offer a stock keeping unit (SKU) available off the shelf ininventory at $10, but the same SKU in component form that might take aweek to assemble and ship out is $8.50, and the same item reserved in amaster production schedule for build 30 to 60 days out and for delivery45 to 75 days out would be only $7.50. This is all feasible as themanufacturer can plan lead times of inbound materials and labor muchmore effectively and in many instances use zero or negative workingcapital because they have time to synchronize and coordinate manuallywith their S&OP plans. A low margin SKU is nearly infinitely profitableif the BPI object and network centric S&OP allows the manufacture tocollect a customer purchase dollar before deploying capital to producethe product. Thus, material, labor, time-based synchronization linked toshaping of client demand is a new competitive weapon. This isparticularly true for manufacturers attempting to out maneuver largeretailer/distributors like Amazon who require inventory to be held inwarehouses. When you combine several of the concepts above with timebased pricing some very interesting business models evolve (all heavilydependent on the BPI object). Combinations of time-based pricing modelslinked to working capital conservation enabled by BPI object and S&OPwith such tactics as postponed manufacturing, postponed manufacturingacross various companies, and assembly coordination allow for creativebusiness models that please customers with never before seen choice inphysical properties and pricing all while creating a win-win benefit ofstep function increases in working capital productivity up and down thesupply chain network.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a computerized methodfor time-based pricing includes: providing a second computer systemcomprising one or more second processors; accessing a firstdecentralized ledger interchange object in a first block ofdecentralized ledger using the one or more second processors, whereinthe first decentralized ledger interchange object is provided by a firstcomputer system and comprises an identifier for an item, a set of timeperiods, a requested quantity of the item for each time period, acommitted quantity of the item for each time period, and a price foreach time period; generating a second decentralized ledger interchangeobject based on the first decentralized ledger interchange object usingthe one or more second processors, wherein the price for each timeperiod is not the same for all the time periods; generating a secondblock for the second decentralized ledger object using the one or moresecond processors; inserting the second block onto the decentralizedledger using the one or more second processors; and making the secondblock visible to the first computer system.

In one aspect, the first and second decentralized ledger objects furthercomprise one or more terms and conditions, one or more specificationsfor the item, a shipping and handling price, a tax amount, a link toother data or information stored remotely, or a link to otherdecentralized ledger interchange objects. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: generating the first decentralized ledger interchangeobject using the one or more first processors of the first computersystem; generating the first block for the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object using the one or more first processors; inserting thefirst block onto the decentralized ledger using the one or more firstprocessors; making the first block visible to one or more secondcomputer systems using the one or more first processors; and using datafrom the second block to create or modify a manufacturing schedule. Inanother aspect, the method further includes: generating at least onecryptographic key for the second computer system; encrypting the firstblock using the cryptographic key; and the cryptographic key enables theone or more second processors to view blocks on the distributed ledgerand to insert blocks onto the distributed ledger. In another aspect, themethod further includes: inputting the identifier for the item, the setof time periods, and the requested quantity of the item for each timeperiod into the first decentralized ledger interchange object using theone or more processors; and inputting the committed quantity of the itemfor each time period and the price for each time period into the seconddecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more secondprocessors. In another aspect, the method further includes: generatingthe first decentralized ledger interchange object using data from asales and operations planning system; and updating the sales andoperations planning system using data from the second decentralizedledger interchange object. In another aspect, the method furtherincludes reconciling and synchronizing the second decentralized ledgerobject received from multiple second computer systems. In anotheraspect, the method further includes: automatically exporting data from asales plan, an inventory plan, a customer lead time plan, a new productdevelopment plan, a strategic initiative plan, or a financial plan intothe first decentralized ledger object; and automatically inputting datafrom the second decentralized ledger object into the sales plan, theinventory plan, the customer lead time plan, the new product developmentplan, the strategic initiative plan, or the financial plan. In anotheraspect, the method further includes automatically updating an electroniccommerce application using the second decentralized ledger object. Inanother aspect, the method further includes organizing a productioncapacity in pricing blocks using the second decentralized ledger object.In another aspect, the production capacity is within a productionfacility, a production line within the production facility, a productproduction across multiple facilities, multiple geographic areas or anentire company.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail. Consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that this summary isillustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Thereaspects, features, and advantages of the devices, processes, and othersubject matter described herein will be become apparent in the teachingsset forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the features and advantages of thepresent invention, reference is now made to the detailed description ofthe invention along with the accompanying figures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a S&OP solution roadmap in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a representation of the types of user interfaces (solutions)fed by the BPI object in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates two physical examples in which postponedmanufacturing is enabled by BPI object and blockchain in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates how the BPI object, along with a decentralized S&OPnetwork, enables “Smart Contracts” and/or distributed applications thatallow for these build assemblies along with lead times to be persistedand maintained throughout the network in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which assembly coordination combinesmany advanced business models enabled by BPI object and S&OP inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a BPI object configuration having anarray of periods for an item with requested production and an array forcommitment in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a graphic view of a generic BPI object moving in a block inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a graphic view of blocks synchronizing and replicating BPIobjects through nodes on decentralized network in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of decentralized blockchain data nodesynchronization, validation, conversation, collaboration and commitmentin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of decentralized BPI objects disseminatedacross a supply chain network, which enables new powerful businessmodels that greatly improves activity synchronization in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of deploying BPI object enabled businessmodels in any order entry system in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of how the BPI object enables decentralizeddistributed S&OP in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 illustrates examples of a private networks supply chain and apublic tokenized network for supply chains in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate an example of a service in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a Hyperledger architecture inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of an Ethereium network architecture inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates a typical use case in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates a contract manufacturer receiving a request viablockchain and responding in minutes, not days, weeks or months inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 20-28 illustrate a BPI object enabled production capacity andcommitment conversation between financial entities in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29 illustrates a current stat of sharing product data betweenentities in which the BPI object and blockchain create efficientdecentralized supply chain collaboration in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 illustrates a phase 1 of BPI object enabled production sharingin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 31 illustrates how the BPI object manages decentralized virtualinventory in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 illustrates BPI object messaging support on any blockchain orcentralized network in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 33 is a block diagram of a data structure for a decentralizedledger interchange object, which is also referred to as the BPI object,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a block diagram of a computer system that uses adecentralized ledger in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 35 is a flow chart of a computerized method for time-basedmanufacturing in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 36 is a flow chart of a computerized method for time-based pricingin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments of the system of the present application aredescribed below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of anactual implementation are described in this specification. It will ofcourse be appreciated that in the development of any such actualembodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made toachieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which will vary fromone implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated thatsuch a development effort might be complex and time-consuming but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in theart having the benefit of this disclosure.

In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial relationshipsbetween various components and to the spatial orientation of variousaspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attacheddrawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the artafter a complete reading of the present application, the devices,members, apparatuses, etc. described herein may be positioned in anydesired orientation. Thus, the use of terms such as “above,” “below,”“upper,” “lower,” or other like terms to describe a spatial relationshipbetween various components or to describe the spatial orientation ofaspects of such components should be understood to describe a relativerelationship between the components or a spatial orientation of aspectsof such components, respectively, as the device described herein may beoriented in any desired direction.

Various embodiments of the present invention provide a decentralizedSales and Operations Planning (“S&OP”) system with a distributed ledger,such as Blockchain, Etherium, Hyperledger, Quorum, etc. The entiredistributed ledger becomes the core “database” of decentralized data anddistributed Apps (“DAAPs”) enable “smart contracts” (essentially storedprocedures) that click off based on the self-describing distributedledger network. A block diagram of a S&OP solution roadmap 100 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.1 . BPI (blockchain planning interchange) object, also referred to asdecentralized ledger interchange objects, flow directly into and out ofthe planning service repository using the planning templates to partnersin a synchronized manner.

A representation of the types of user interfaces (solutions) fed by theBPI object is shown in FIG. 2 . The BPI objects are fed to centralizedS&OP plans, order commitment SOE execution requests, as well as rollupsof the BPI feeds from many suppliers, into the ability to commit anorder and lead time for clients within and between blockchain networks.These advanced blockchain DAAPs could push and pull S&OP plans at theedge of the network back to a centralized rollup. Non-limited examplesof S&OP systems that will work with the present invention are describedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,974,395, 7,657,534 and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2010/0262581, which are hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety.

Embodiments of the present invention can be implemented using anyexisting or future distributed ledger system in which digital data isreplicated, shared and synchronized across nodes within a peer-to-peernetwork. Each node replicates and saves an identical copy of the ledgerand updates itself independently. There is no central administrator orcentralized data storage for the distributed ledger. The systems can beeither public or private. Blockchain is an example of distributed ledgerthat is resistant to modification of the data, in part, because it is agrowing list of blocks that are linked together using cryptography.Typically, each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previousblock, a timestamp and transaction data. The invention is by no meanslimited to what current IT professionals describe as Blockchain butrather possible on ANY decentralized/distributed network protocol.

Blockchain represents a method to scale a loosely coupled decentralizednetwork of data but keep it in sync or better yet decompose the plansend out for comment and recompose, resync. This is done with blockchainnodes, shared ledgers, peer to peer IP messaging and encryptiontechnology. It allows for decomposition for security reasons as well asbusiness process reasons.

Various embodiments of the present invention use a distributed ledgerplanning interchange object as the basic building block element of asupply chain plan (time phased array of data) encapsulated indistributed ledger technology and designed to be disassembled andreassembled into any planning tool from a spreadsheet (e.g., Excel,etc.) to the most complicated planning tool. As used herein, thedistributed ledger planning interchange object will be referred to as ablockchain planning interchange (“BPI”) object, but it is not limited toblockchain. The BPI object works on all major blockchain technologies(ethereum, hyperledger and quorum) and in a permissioned (privatenetwork) or in a public (non permissioned) blockchain decentralizednetwork. The BPI blockchain object is completely transferable betweenprivate and public decentralized networks regardless of their“topology”, “brand”, or instantiation/implementation

Some examples of decentralized S&OP with DAPP and Smart contract rulesenforcement will now be briefly described.

FIG. 3 illustrates two physical examples, namely a vehicle and a cellphone, in which postponed manufacturing is enabled by BPI object andblockchain in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.Three of many possible new business models are enabled by the BPI'sability to synchronize the supply chain network as well as many S&OPplans. For example, keeping components of a vehicle in ready-to-assembleform and the same for a hi-tech cell phone products. The ability for theBPI object and the conversational BPI objects to make communicatingquantities, lead times of these assemblies as effortless ascommunication about a SKU (stock keep unit) is revolutionary in thecreation of supply chain efficiency as discussed. These examples includepostponed manufacturing enabled by BPI object and blockchain where aplanning bill of materials is linked via the BPI object to the originalsource, S&OP is enabled against decentralized data, final assembly closeto demand, massive working capital savings, and intellectual propertyprotection. If a manufacturer is given more lead time to coordinate andplan his production his cost of raw materials, his scheduling of laborand even his overhead costs of facilities and equipment go down. Forconfirmation of how beneficial this capability can be and how theintellectual capital has not yet been previously discovered is there isvirtually NO example of lower price for longer lead times in theconsumer market and if done in the commercial industrial market is donethrough negotiation not a general business model. Advanced DAPPs andsmart contracts that enable much more rapid synchronizing theconversation of how much to make when using the BPI object anddecentralized S&OP plans not only enable but make these advance businessmodels like automatic assembly logic for postponed (delayedmanufacturing), and assembly coordination the norm in the consumer andindustrial manufacturing ecosystems. Thus allowing synching of numerousitems in an indented planning bill of material to be coordinated to alocation at the same time from many suppliers and supply points/thusblocks in the blockchain.

FIG. 4 illustrates how the BPI object, along with a decentralized S&OPnetwork, enable “Smart Contracts” and/or distributed applications thatallow for these build assemblies along with lead times to be persistedand maintained throughout the network. Time based pricing of smartcontracts with S&OP is used to notify buyers of price discounts based onaccepting inventory with more lead time. If the build inventoryschedules/plans can be shared and committed to through a decentralizednetwork, then much of the overall working capital/inventory could bereduced thus allowing manufacturers to incept customers to take a lowerprice for longer lead times. Advanced DAPPs and smart contracts providethe ability for manufacturers and distributors to use time basedpricing. Coordinating production commitments provides based on timeprovides discounts to same SKU if given more time to produce it.Furthermore the concept gets ever more interesting when combining leadtimes with the planning build of material (basic components forassembly) where lead times are pushed back to coordinate at time all areavailable. This enables massive time reduction for the jobs rolls whocoordinate material across our economies from Boeing making airplanes tothe general contractor remodeling your kitchen. As shown, the price is$10 for units that are on hand and available today, the price is $9 forunits that are postponed with a three week lead time, and the price is$6 for units for drop shipment twelve weeks out. Note that the pricescan vary during the different periods. This is analogous to yieldmanagement in airlines and hotels but done a decentralized database ofrequest and respond networks. Although concept of yield management isnot new applying in todays highly decentralized manufacturing supplychain requires the BPI object and advanced BPI object based S&OP.

Various embodiments of the present invention provide a DAPP (distributedapp) that sits inside any blockchain network that can do a complete S&OPplan. This allows for levels of autonomy linked to the broader networkto synchronize demand and supply within the network.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which assembly coordination combinesmany advanced business models enabled by BPI object and S&OP (aggregatedbusiness models). As shown, a bill of materials for Part 13A-5200-13A ismade up of four items. The parts are displayed based on cost and leadtime, in which Part 1 has the highest price and shortest lead time, Part2 has a lower price and a longer lead time, Part 3 has a lower price anda longer lead time, and Part 4 has the lowest price and the longest leadtime. Since Part 4 has the longest lead time, delivery of the otherparts can be pushed out to the longest lead time (Part 4) and discountedprices for Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be obtained. This is a process materialplanners in all industries do daily hourly but with the BPI object theirability to use computing to dramatically save time in their existingprocess and expand their network of partners dramatically isexponentially improved.

The BPI object will now be described in more detail. Think of the BPIobject as a blockchain instantiation of an array of numbers over timeperiods (like a spreadsheet) or in computing architecture an “array” isa common term for a list of numbers in a period sequence. The BPI objectis this array can be defined down to one line item (one SKU) for a fewperiods or can be a large portion of an entire schedule with multipleSKU's depending on the application. From a lay perspective, the BPIobject is the “DNA” or genetic Lego building block of all schedules andplans. BPI objects are signals or messages sent todecentralized/distributed versions of one or more planning systems.

The BPI object is highly differentiated from existing data standards orother data structures to share production data across differentiatedsystems using either online share databases or with flat files.

The BPI object can be formatted as EDI, XML, REST messages or any othertype of known or unknown message.

The BPI object can be decentralized distributed but then reconnected,and it will know where it fits in the aggregation of multiple streams ofarrays of production over time from multiple sources. This isaccomplished using time-stamps indicating the network or owner it camefrom (e.g., node owner identifier, blockchain identifier, etc.) and thedate it was created.

The BPI object is encrypted with network centric encryption so the ownerof the BPI object can choose who in the network can read the data and ormodify the data.

The BPI object is created as part of a decentralized network. So it canbe a single item of a few weeks of production information or couldrepresent an entire S&OP planning result to be shared with otherentities for use or consolidation.

The BPI object because the inherent data of when, where, why, who itcame from as well as time stamping greatly assists the human or computerassisted human in reconciling time netting of consumption of previousdemand from previous production. This ability is much like the abilityof insect colonies of ants or bees to work collectively using offlineinstructions/pheromones visual signals (still a mystery to science). Theresult is dramatic synchronization of activity. This is one of the goalsof the BPI object—become the base element to the production planning,S&OP, supply chain planning, forecasting systems so they all can workconcurrently but with dramatically improved synchronization.

The BPI object builds off of historical standards like an ANSI EDI 830message but is usable by any system standalone to the most sophisticatedencrypted decentralized network.

The BPI object is not restricted to one estanutaton of the data. The BPIobject can be a specific single item of production and commitment overtime or a complete plan results with all items, consumption, forecasts,production and commitment result. Like the build plan output of an S&OPsystem. As noted herein, the importance of the BPI object can be bestunderstood by the advanced business models and ability to run S&OP as adecentralized distributed process across heterogeneous company andtechnology networks/environments.

In one embodiment, the BPI object is a portion of a master productionplan (in a spreadsheet or in a database controlled planning system) thatan entity wishes to communicate and receive a commitment on. The BPIobject can be a portion of data in an array, or a portion of amultiparty spreadsheet that can be disseminated, acted on and thencommunicated back to the original owner with the appropriate timestamps, version stamps, permissions, hierarchy of importance, etc. Anoff chain application can reassemble the BPI object back to its originalform, but with the feedback and knowledge of the loosely coupleddistributed/decentralized participants. The BPI object enables a“Hivechain” or “Intelligence at the edges” computing framework thatencourages validation closest to the operation and resynchronizationwithout human interaction. This system takes the burden of datacoordination largely away from the human and allows the humanplanner/decision maker to act, run scenarios, provide time to consideralternative approaches that better accomplish a goal. That goal could beas wide ranging as speed at any cost to minimum cost with unlimitedtime.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a BPI object configuration having anarray of periods for an item with requested production and an array forcommitment. The BPI object is coordinating lead times of individualarrays of production with the planning bill of material describing partdependencies components required to complete a finished item. The simpleexample is pushing all parts back to the lead time of Part 4 tocoordinate assembly but do at a lower cost as without Part 4 thefinished item cannot be built, shipped etc. More specifically, the arrayof periods includes one or more time periods (e.g., ten periods 1 to 10)for part number 13A-5200-117. As shown, a requested production of 30units for each of the time periods is shown. Note that the quantitiescan vary for the different time periods. The supplier will add thequantities that they can provide in the commit section. Priceinformation and other terms may also be added to the BPI object. The BPIobject is the transaction data that is recorded into the block of theblockchain. This illustration of the BPI object is for one item over 10periods but the BPI object is not limited to a single configuration. Thedesign of the BPI object allows for the definition of number of itemsand periods to be understood between trading partners and synchronizedback into or with production/S&OP plans at will. This also providesflexibility to accommodate preferred practice for various reasons(tradition, industry, production planning system integration feeds,etc.). Note that the BPI object is not limited to this dataconfiguration.

If BPI objects and other similar objects are widely used for openpurchase orders, available inventory, in-transit inventory, open orders,etc., they become instantiated in blocks in the production planningnetwork and will create a time synchronized record of key execution dataand planning data for all nodes in the block (companies, planninglocations, etc.). Thus, by using the blockchain data sharing ecosystem,this time synchronized and scrubbed warehouse of data becomes availablefor a node. Furthermore, may become available across nodes thus that alarger powerful brand owner my run a plan to suggest purchases asupplier does to support the brand owners needs. For example, Applelooks at component supplier Corning's ability to push inventory toFoxcon and advises on production suggestions even though they are notfinancial responsible for Corning or Foxcon production assets andpeople. In most cases owners of the asset would reject this “advice” butpotentially in a situation such as Apple it is welcome as Apple might beowning nearly 100% of said facility or entire production capability ofCorning or Foxcon for a period of time and willing to pay for it. Muchlike renting a car you know own for a period of time and up to you tomake the best utilization of the asset for that period of time?

In one embodiment, the BPI object is a generic time-based array in JavaScript, spreadsheet scripting language or any other tool to store on adistributed ledger data. The data can be stored in a block in a node onthe supply chain or can be stored in a larger centralized data pool(e.g. Interplanatory File System (“IFPS”) link to a database). The BPIobject is kept generic so it can be used in all major forms ofblockchain platforms (Ethereum, Hyperledger, Quruom etc.) and also usedin non-blockchain decentralized network data stores and topologies. Infact, the BPI object can be deployed across numerous formal/informalnetworks for databases, spreadsheets, email, XML and other communicationmethods. Any database or flat file of choice can be used. Using theshared ledger, consensus models of blockchain the BPI object can bebroken out of any existing schedule or plan and sent via blockchainpeer-to-peer and encrypted decentralized network to any and all nodes.

A graphic view of a generic BPI object moving in a block is shown inFIG. 7 . A graphic view of blocks synchronizing and replicating BPIobjects through nodes on decentralized network in shown in FIG. 8 . Anillustration of decentralized blockchain data node synchronization,validation, conversation, collaboration and commitment is shown in FIG.9 . An illustration of decentralized BPI objects disseminated across asupply chain network, which enables new powerful business models thatgreatly improves activity synchronization is shown in FIG. 10 . Anillustration of deploying BPI object enabled business models in anyorder entry system is shown in FIG. 11 . An illustration of how the BPIobject enables decentralized distributed S&OP is shown in FIG. 12 .

In one scenario, the BPI objects work on a private (permissioned)blockchain where all the trading partners in the network already knowand trust each other. In this case, there is no need for Proof of Stakeor Proof of Work algorithms to determine trust. In another scenario, theBPI objects work as same array defined object in the public ornon-permissioned blockchain. This is where various proof of trustalgorithms are used and require 3^(rd) party miners to define trust.Much like cryptocurrency mining works but more specific to the dataelement. In both scenarios, the level of complexity is much lighter thenin a transactional level data sharing, such as financial services thatare prolific in the blockchain world today. So much of the BPI objectcan be accomplished and has been accomplished without blockchaintechnology. These scenarios are illustrated in FIG. 13 .

What blockchain platforms offer is the latest approach to scale, toproliferate to provide popularity of the approach thus making thedecentralized network a close to real time as necessary but allowingparticipants to control level of data they share, how often, in whatform and to respond to requests at a rate commensurate with theirinternal planning and profit goals as well as other mitigating businessprocess goals. Thus, a firm participating in aerospace machining willtake much more time to respond but may be more precise. A contractmanufacturer producing apparel or low cost electronics may be near realtime due to competitive pressures and the required agility of thenetwork.

“M8keit” is a service to provide a synchronized production BPI objectdata coordination supply chain between brand owners and manufacturersand their tiers of suppliers using asynchronous/loosely coupledblockchain technology and the BPI. The BPI object design will feed S&OPand all variations of forecasts, plans and schedules using a service atthe URL M8kit.net. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 , M8kit starts withmatching potential brand owners, manufacturers and suppliers but is realunique and large value add is in coordinating these time based plans ina synchronized fashion to catalyst successful long term relationshipsand relationships that serve customer desires at a much lower pricepoint through build to order time based pricing incentives.

The BPI object architecture in FIG. 18 is illustrated by the yellow box.The network includes:

-   -   Ledgers (one per channel—comprises of the blockchain and the        state database);    -   Smart contract(s) (e.g., chaincode, etc.);    -   Peer nodes;    -   Ordering services;    -   Channels; and    -   Fabric Certificate Authorities.        Information about the Hyperledger can be found at        hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/release-1.2/network/network.html.        Information about blockchain can be found at        graphics.reuters.com/technology-blockchaing/010070P 11        GN/index.html        The technical architecture of hyperledger can be found at        hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/release-1.2/whatis.html#

An instance of Hyperledger is installed on a hosting environment likeAWS, Microsoft, IBM or other environment. Hyperledger fabric andordering nodes are installed. Network participants are defined by IPaddresses of which a Hyperledger node or nodes are addressed using a PKI(Public Key Infrastructure). “Hyperledger Fabric assigns network rolesby node type. To provide concurrency and parallelism to the network,transaction execution is separated from transaction ordering andcommitment. Executing transactions prior to ordering them enables eachpeer node to process multiple transactions simultaneously. Thisconcurrent execution increases processing efficiency on each peer andaccelerates delivery of transactions to the ordering service.”(hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/releast-1.2/functionalities.html).

Each time channel owner or supply chain network owner wants to broadcasta time phased array plan for a response commitment for consolidation thesystem pushes a new share ledger to the World State (see Hyperledgerfabric description below and creates a blockchain). Thus the entiremaster schedule could be a BPI object or as we would prefer a line itemof a SKU for N number of periods of time (our default BPI).

The base level BPI object is defined as one time series array of oneitem (SKU) over “N” number of periods. There will be instances with theBPI object will be much larger literally a whole section of a masterplan and items. However, the more the shared ledger is defined as thebase BPI object, the more permutations of many shared ledgers(production) information are allowed to be consolidated and ordered offchain

An example of a Hyperledger architecture is shown in FIG. 16 . Anexample of an Ethereium network architecture is shown in FIG. 17 .

A typical use case will now be described in reference to FIG. 18 .

Step 1: Sales asks for 300 units in aggregate across three contractmanufacturers:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 30 30 30 30 30 30 3030 30 30 Commit All

Step 2: Internal operations after S&OP process decides shipping 10 unitsper week over 10 weeks with one week lead time to distribution facilitywill meet expected sales. To not be restricted to single source ofsupply, the Brand owner breaks this production request into three buildplans and ships to three separately owned contract manufacturers.

Step 3: A message is sent to each contract manufacturer via theblockchain to secured partners (already trust the partners and dobusiness with them). This request for production is sent to contractmanufacturing location 1:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 10 10 10 10 10 10 1010 10 10 Commit All

This request for production is sent to contract manufacturing location 2

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 15 15 15 15 15 15 1515 15 15 Commit All

This request for production is sent to contract manufacturing location3:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5Commit All

All three contract manufacturing locations use different productionplanning systems.

Step 4: Each contract manufacturer will have an off blockchain “wallet”to receive the array of data (spreadsheet) and will either use ourutility or their production planning software utility to import therequest into their production system. Once imported into theirproduction planning, scheduling, MPS based on their unique needs theywill respond with the quantity they can commit to. Because quantity isgenerally not disputed but quantity per time period is generally notheld, the following is assumed.

Step 5: Each plant responds with three days or sooner.

Contract manufacturing location 1 responds:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 10 10 10 10 10 10 1010 10 10 Commit CM 1  0  0  0  0 45 11 11 11 11 11

Contract manufacturing location 2 responds:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 15 15 15 15 15 15 1515 15 15 Commit CM2 15 15 15 15 15  0  0  0  0  0

Contract manufacturing location 3 responds:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5Commit CM3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Step 7: The utility we provide with the blockchain will extract the datafrom each CM's “production wallet” and will be sent encrypted via theblockchain network/Internet to the Brand manager central location.

Step 8: Using the utility provided as off blockchain, each response issynchronized and uploaded to the S&OP staging data area. The plannersreview each response and consolidate the response into the S&OPproduction commitment section and auto reconcile by hitting a button.This functionality is all done off blockchain.

The consolidated commitment plan will look like this:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13A-5200-117 Production 30 30 30 30  30 3030 30 30 30 Commit CM 20 20 20 20  65 26 26 26 26 26 ALL sites Shortageflag 10 10 10 10 +35  4  4  4  4  4 Cumulative short 10 20 30 40  0  3 8 12 16 20

The Brand manager may accept this schedule as fully adequate to meet thedemand or may repeat the cycle to negotiate with contractmanufacturer(s).

Step 9: To test the public vs. private blockchain performance, theincremental short balance in the above table was put out in a publicnetwork for contract manufacturers to identify additional manufacturingcapacity. The reason for this additional step is both functional and totest transaction ledger speed on trusted partner network vs. openuntrusted network.

Step 10: To test using EPBI object outside blockchain to send“spreadsheet” array in native form to another division of Brand ownercompany using a dissimilar enterprise production planning system and getcommitments via a traditional messaging approach. Consolidate this backto totals.

The major difference in this scenario is it is precisely how the realworld works. The algorithms in the brand managers S&OP are not used atthis point it purely is locking in attainment promised by the CMmanufacturers and will proceed to commit other resources in the supplychain and sales to this plan.

The existence of this distributed block chain array scheduler will allowthis negotiation to happen largely without human interference andwithout error as these time phased array additions, subtractions andadjustments are all difficult to keep manually. Many more SKU's maybe1000's are shipped back and forth in a planning period. The SKU's willlink to planning bill of material information that the CM's largelyalready have in their production systems but likely will be availablealso.

There will be subcomponent suppliers A, B and C as illustrated in thediagram. All of these suppliers will be given access to the demandsignal from the brand manager. They may or may not have systems tointerpret component quantity demand from finished good demand. If saidcomponent supplier does not have this planning bill of material theywill be able to pull it from the blockchain or off blockchainapplication to make the calculation. In a typical deployment, therecould be a geometrically large volume of nodes and thus the blockchaindesign created and designed to scale.

Sample base BPI object defined as JSOM

Communicate on chain in parallel to all block visualization

{  “version”: “1.0a”,  “date”: “2018-02-05T05:17:33.187Z”,  “src”:“5994471abb01112afcc18159f6cc74b4f511b99806da59b3caf5a9c173cacfc5”, “dst”:“ba7816bf8f0lcfea414140de5dae2223b00361a396177a9cb410ff61f20015ad”, “type”: “commit”,  “part”: “13A-5200-117”,  “period”: [{“qty”:“5”,“lead”: “2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”:“2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “ 2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “2”}] }

Off chain code to push and pull data on and off the blockchain at theresponse nodes/roles (e.g. a contract manufacturer or plant respondingto demand signal request) as shown in FIG. 19 . Off chain code toconsolidate many BPI's from many nodes from blockchain to an orderingdatabase either in the State DB or a direct manipulation of data fromthe State DB. These can then organize the response in a method thatrespects latest greatest information ignoring older duplicate ormeaningless responses.

The new way BPI object enabled production capacity and commitmentconversation between financial entities. The data of the use case asrepresented above when HP need to order 300 laptops to be produced bythree independent contract manufacturers and how planned production isshared, committed or commented on by contract manufacturers and thennegotiated as shown in FIGS. 20-28 .

A new Plan is configured, checked out, data assembled then planning isstarted. Plan is completed and established as released plan by the brandowner HP

Step 1: S&OP Plan goes through planning cycle and becomes final andapproved as shown in FIG. 22 .

The real test of a good S&OP is it meeting customer supply needs but inequilibrium of liabilities vs. assets. As shown in FIG. 23 , anInventory Bridge from DCRA S&OP plan shows a plan where long term demandis pegged to various levels of liabilities (commitments fromproduction). This can be in house production or outsourced production.The BPI object will greatly reduce the time it takes to get firmcommitments from suppliers and thereby improving the accuracy andprecision of the plan as well as make the plan more nimble if and whendemand changes. The S&OP solution allows virtually unlimitedviews/reports/categorization of the plan.

Step 2: The various partners (contract manufacturers, internalmanufacturing, component suppliers, logistics providers) are notifiedwith their “build plan” instructions, which is generally a subset ofoverall plan. An example build plan output from actual plan is shown inFIG. 24 . The total is allocated to three contract manufacturers.

Step 4: The Blockchain array is populated with build plan and theblockchain technology disseminates this production array to all thenodes in the blockchain/supply chain. There will be more “data” nodesthen supply chain participants as one supply chain participant (node)might have many different roles to act and thus data nodes as shown inFIG. 21 .

json object {  “version”: “1.0a”,  “date”: “2018-02-05T05:17:33.187Z”, “src”:“5994471abb01112afcc18159f6cc74b4f511b99806da59b3caf5a9c173cacfc5”, “dst”:“ba7816bf8f0lcfea414140de5dae2223b00361a396177a9cb410ff61f20015ad”, “type”: “REQUEST”,  “part”: “13A-5200-117”,  “period”: [{“qty”:“5”,“lead”: “2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”:“2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “ 2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “2”}] }

Once the build plan production arrays are extracted, transformed andloaded onto a blockchain array the data is propagated through theblockchain nodes to all approved, interested parties. In this simplifiedflow we will primarily look at the contract manufacturers receipt of thearray.

Step 5: Blockchain array is received by all supply chain nodes (andblockchain trust nodes) and is sent to response tool of node as shown inFIG. 26 .

Step 6: Plan by local contract manufacturer. Tools used by variousmanufacturers and even within various production groups, facilities,business groups may vary but the BPI object will be a universalrepresentation of said plan. The production party will load into theirtool ranging from a whiteboard/spreadsheet to the most sophisticated AIbased APS system for analysis. See FIG. 27 .

Step 7: After planning is done by response node a response itre-communicated through the blockchain back to brand owner.

Step 8: Reload back onto chain.

Step 9: Communicate on chain in parallel to all block visualization

{  “version”: “1.0a”,  “date”: “2018-02-05T05:17:33.187Z”,  “src”:“5994471abb01112afcc18159f6cc74b4f511b99806da59b3caf5a9c173cacfc5”, “dst”:“ba7816bf8f0lcfea414140de5dae2223b00361a396177a9cb410ff61f20015ad”, “type”: “commit”,  “part”: “13A-5200-117”,  “period”: [{“qty”:“5”,“lead”: “2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”:“2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “ 2”},{“qty”: “5”,“lead”: “2”}] }

Step 10: Blockchain is insert directly to S&OP plan out put as revisedcommitment or is inserted into plan and replanning done to meet demandand supply. The commitment array can literally white out a portion ofthe requested master production schedule and replace it with thecontract manufacturer's commitment. Balance this against sales andeither accept or rinse and repeat with the manufacturing entity.

Step 11: Illustrate potential for on chain Smart Contract potential forsimple rules to be engaged based on distributed, decentralized dataupdates. Example Smart contract: Automatic transport lead-timeescalation from ocean to air freight for late production; and paymentupon commitment.

Step 12: Illustrate use of tokenized BPI object to use BPI object toobtain additional capacity bids when primary suppliers come up short ofavailable production/inventory.

Step 12a: Use search function to look into catalog of contractmanufacturers by industry, by geography, by functional expertise.

Step 12b: Select contact info of contract manufacturer or demand ownerand see if there is interest general availability.

Step 12c: Send tokenized BPI object schedule and follow same model asprivate network above.

Step 12d: For full public coin model the process will likely start withstep 12 then go to step 1. For private network step 12 only used ifcapacity not available with trusted sources.

Step 13: Envision new type of S&OP part quantitative part communicationbased. In essence a negotiation enabled S&OP plan.

An overview of the process is shown in FIG. 28 .

FIG. 29 illustrates a current stat of sharing product data betweenentities in which the BPI object and blockchain create efficientdecentralized supply chain collaboration. FIG. 30 illustrates a phase 1of BPI object enabled production sharing. FIG. 31 illustrates how theBPI object manages decentralized virtual inventory. FIG. 32 illustratesBPI object messaging support on any blockchain or centralized network.

FIG. 33 is a block diagram of a data structure for a decentralizedledger interchange object 3300, which is also referred to as the BPIobject, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Thedecentralized ledger interchange object 3300 includes a first data field3302, a set of second data fields 3304, a set of third data fields 3306,and a set of fourth data fields 3308. The first data field 3302 containsan identifier for an item. The set of second data fields 3304 are linkedto the first data field 3302. Each second field 3304 contains one of aset of time periods. Each third data field 3306 is linked to acorresponding second data field 3304, and each third data field 3306contains a requested quantity of the item for a corresponding timeperiod. Each fourth data field 3308 is linked to the correspondingsecond data field 3304, and each fourth data field 3308 contains acommitted quantity of the item for the corresponding time period. Notethat the decentralized ledger interchange object 3300 may includeadditional data fields and the data can be arranged differently as longas the links are maintained. For example, in some embodiments, the datastructure 3300 may include a set of fifth data fields 3310. Each fifthdata field 3310 is linked to the corresponding second data field 3304,and each fifth data field 3310 contains a price for the correspondingtime period. Likewise, in some embodiments, the data structure 3300 mayinclude one or more sixth data fields 3312. The sixth data fields 3312are linked to the first data field 3302, and each sixth data field 3312contains one or more terms and conditions, one or more specificationsfor the item, a shipping and handling price, a tax amount, a link toother data or information stored remotely, or a link to otherdecentralized ledger interchange objects. Other information or data maybe included.

In one aspect, the first data field, the set of second data fields, andthe set of third data fields are filled in by a first processor, and theset of fourth data fields are filled in by a second processor. Inanother aspect, the first data field, the set of second data fields andthe set of third data fields, and the set of fourth data fields areconfigured for automatic input into or export from a sales andoperations planning system. In another aspect, the first data field, theset of second data fields and the set of third data fields, and the setof fourth data fields are configured for automatic input into or exportfrom a sales plan, an inventory plan, a customer lead time plan, a newproduct development plan, a strategic initiative plan, or a financialplan. In another aspect, the first data field, the set of second datafields and the set of third data fields, and the set of fourth datafields are configured for automatically updating an electronic commerceapplication. In another aspect, the identifier for the item comprises astock keeping unit number, a production unit number, a part number, or amodel number. In another aspect, the decentralized ledger interchangeobject is configured for use in a decentralized ledger. In anotheraspect, the decentralized ledger can be hyper ledger, blockchain, quorumor other known or unknown decentralized ledger. In another aspect, thedecentralized ledger interchange object is detachable from thedecentralized ledger. In another aspect, the detached decentralizedledger interchange object is reconcilable back to a source of thedecentralized ledger interchange object. In another aspect, the detacheddecentralized ledger interchange object is synchronized with otherinformation without a link to the source of the decentralized ledgerinterchange object. In another aspect, the decentralized ledgerinterchange object is an asynchronous data object that isself-reconciling.

This data object has embedded within it structures, links, relationshipsand other information such that it can be detached from its “Blockchain”or other decentralized network but then later reconciled back to itssource and synchronized with other detached production scheduleinformation without having to be tethered or linked to its source tosynchronize. It is an asynchronous data object that self-reconciles.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram of a computer system 3400 that uses adecentralized ledger 3402 in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The computer system 3400 includes a first computersystem 3404 having one or more first processors 3406 and one or moresecond computer systems 3408, each second computer system 3408 havingone or more second processors 3410. The one or more first processors3406: (a) generate a first decentralized ledger interchange object 3412,(b) generate a first block 3414 for the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object 3412, (c) insert the first block 3414 onto thedecentralized ledger 3402, and (d) make the first block 3414 visible tothe one or more second computer systems 3408. The one or more secondprocessors 3408: (a) access the first decentralized ledger interchangeobject 3412 in the first block 3414 of the decentralized ledger 3402,(b) generate a second decentralized ledger interchange object 3416 basedon the first decentralized ledger interchange object 3412, (c) generatea second block 3418 for the second decentralized ledger object 3416, (d)insert the second block 3418 onto the decentralized ledger 3402, and (e)make the second block 3418 visible to the first computer system 3404.The first and second decentralized ledger interchange objects 3412 and3416 include an identifier for an item, a set of time periods, arequested quantity of the item for each time period, and a committedquantity of the item for each time period. The first computer system3404 can be communicably coupled to other internal or external systems3420. Likewise, the second computer system 3408 can be communicablycoupled to other internal or external systems 3422.

In one aspect, the first and second decentralized ledger objects furthercomprise a price for each time period. In another aspect, the first andsecond decentralized ledger objects further comprise one or more termsand conditions, one or more specifications for the item, a shipping andhandling price, a tax amount, a link to other data or information storedremotely, or a link to other decentralized ledger interchange objects.In another aspect, the one or more first processors generate at leastone cryptographic key for the second computer system, and encrypt thefirst block using the cryptographic key, and the cryptographic keyenables the one or more second processors to view blocks on thedistributed ledger and to insert blocks onto the distributed ledger. Inanother aspect, the one or more first processors input the identifierfor the item, the set of time periods, and the requested quantity of theitem for each time period into the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object, and the one or more second processors input thecommitted quantity of the item for each time period into the seconddecentralized ledger interchange object. In another aspect, the one ormore first processors generate the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object using data from a sales and operations planningsystem, and update the sales and operations planning system using datafrom the second decentralized ledger interchange object. In anotheraspect, the one or more first processors reconcile and synchronize thesecond decentralized ledger object received from multiple secondcomputer systems. In another aspect, the first decentralized ledgerobject and the second decentralized ledger object are automaticallyinput into or exported from a sales plan, an inventory plan, a customerlead time plan, a new product development plan, a strategic initiativeplan, or a financial plan. In another aspect, the first decentralizedledger object and the second decentralized ledger object a exported to astatic non-network production system or supply chain system as a directdata feed to synchronize future inventory requirements from anotherparty, source, block, node or location. In another aspect, the seconddecentralized ledger object is used to automatically update anelectronic commerce application. In another aspect, the decentralizedledger is used as a source of data in a manufacturing process, a supplychain, a sales and operations planning time series plan, or a schedule.

The decentralized ledger object can be generated from a Blockchain orother decentralized network supported system, but also can be exportedto static non-network production/supply chain systems as a direct datafeed to synchronize future inventory requirements from anotherparty/source/block/node/location. This conversation can repeat itselfover and over such as would occur between emails or requests andpromises with a spoken language.

FIG. 35 is a flow chart of a computerized method 3500 for time-basedmanufacturing in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. A first computer system comprising one or more firstprocessors is provided in block 3502. A first decentralized ledgerinterchange object is generated using the one or more first processorsin block 3504. The first decentralized ledger interchange objectincludes an identifier for an item, a set of time periods, a requestedquantity of the item for each time period, and a committed quantity ofthe item for each time period. A first block is generated for the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more firstprocessors in block 3506. The first block is inserted onto thedecentralized ledger using the one or more first processors in block3508. The first block is made visible to one or more second computersystems using the one or more first processors in block 3510. A secondblock on decentralized ledger is accessed in block 3512. The secondblock is created by one or more second processors of the second computersystem based on the first block. The data from the second block is usedto create or modify a manufacturing schedule in block 3514.

In one aspect, the method further includes: accessing the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object in the first block ofdecentralized ledger using the one or more second processors; generatingthe second decentralized ledger interchange object based on the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more secondprocessors; generating a second block for the second decentralizedledger object using the one or more second processors; inserting thesecond block onto the decentralized ledger using the one or more secondprocessors; and making the second block visible to the first computersystem. In another aspect, the first and second decentralized ledgerobjects further comprise a price for each time period. In anotheraspect, the first and second decentralized ledger objects furthercomprise one or more terms and conditions, one or more specificationsfor the item, a shipping and handling price, a tax amount, a link toother data or information stored remotely, or a link to otherdecentralized ledger interchange objects. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: generating at least one cryptographic key for thesecond computer system; encrypting the first block using thecryptographic key; and the cryptographic key enables the one or moresecond processors to view blocks on the distributed ledger and to insertblocks onto the distributed ledger. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: inputting the identifier for the item, the set of timeperiods, and the requested quantity of the item for each time periodinto the first decentralized ledger interchange object using the one ormore processors; and inputting the committed quantity of the item foreach time period into the second decentralized ledger interchange objectusing the one or more second processors. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: generating the first decentralized ledger interchangeobject using data from a sales and operations planning system; andupdating the sales and operations planning system using data from thesecond decentralized ledger interchange object. In another aspect, themethod further includes reconciling and synchronizing the seconddecentralized ledger object received from multiple second computersystems. In another aspect, the method further includes: automaticallyexporting data from a sales plan, an inventory plan, a customer leadtime plan, a new product development plan, a strategic initiative plan,or a financial plan into the first decentralized ledger object; andautomatically inputting data from the second decentralized ledger objectinto the sales plan, the inventory plan, the customer lead time plan,the new product development plan, the strategic initiative plan, or thefinancial plan. In another aspect, the method further includesautomatically updating an electronic commerce application using thesecond decentralized ledger object. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes coordinating and synchronizing one or more productionarrays of data using the first decentralized ledger object or the seconddecentralized ledger object. In another aspect, the method furtherincludes rationalizing, synchronizing and coordinating two or moreindependent decentralized distributed concurrent plans the firstdecentralized ledger object or the second decentralized ledger object.

This embodiment allows non-centralized, asynchronous productionplanning, supply chain and in particular decentralized S&OP plans tocoordinate, synchronize various production arrays of data using thedecentralized ledger object. In particular, a production planning S&OPsystem can be built on top of as the decentralized ledger object as thecentral basis of communication can allow for independent decentralizeddistributed concurrent plans to be rationalized, synchronized,coordinated in methods previously impossible when trying to coordinateindependent production plans.

FIG. 36 is a flow chart of a computerized method 3600 for time-basedpricing in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asecond computer system comprising one or more second processors isprovided in block 3602. A first decentralized ledger interchange objectin a first block of decentralized ledger is accessed using the one ormore second processors in block 3604. The first decentralized ledgerinterchange object is provided by a first computer system and includesan identifier for an item, a set of time periods, a requested quantityof the item for each time period, a committed quantity of the item foreach time period, and a price for each time period. A seconddecentralized ledger interchange object is generated based on the firstdecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more secondprocessors in block 3606. The price for each time period is not the samefor all the time periods. A second block for the second decentralizedledger object is generated using the one or more second processors inblock 3608. The second block is inserted onto the decentralized ledgerusing the one or more second processors in block 3610. The second blockis made visible to the first computer system in block 3612.

In one aspect, the first and second decentralized ledger objects furthercomprise one or more terms and conditions, one or more specificationsfor the item, a shipping and handling price, a tax amount, a link toother data or information stored remotely, or a link to otherdecentralized ledger interchange objects. In another aspect, the methodfurther includes: generating the first decentralized ledger interchangeobject using the one or more first processors of the first computersystem; generating the first block for the first decentralized ledgerinterchange object using the one or more first processors; inserting thefirst block onto the decentralized ledger using the one or more firstprocessors; making the first block visible to one or more secondcomputer systems using the one or more first processors; and using datafrom the second block to create or modify a manufacturing schedule. Inanother aspect, the method further includes: generating at least onecryptographic key for the second computer system; encrypting the firstblock using the cryptographic key; and the cryptographic key enables theone or more second processors to view blocks on the distributed ledgerand to insert blocks onto the distributed ledger. In another aspect, themethod further includes: inputting the identifier for the item, the setof time periods, and the requested quantity of the item for each timeperiod into the first decentralized ledger interchange object using theone or more processors; and inputting the committed quantity of the itemfor each time period and the price for each time period into the seconddecentralized ledger interchange object using the one or more secondprocessors. In another aspect, the method further includes: generatingthe first decentralized ledger interchange object using data from asales and operations planning system; and updating the sales andoperations planning system using data from the second decentralizedledger interchange object. In another aspect, the method furtherincludes reconciling and synchronizing the second decentralized ledgerobject received from multiple second computer systems. In anotheraspect, the method further includes: automatically exporting data from asales plan, an inventory plan, a customer lead time plan, a new productdevelopment plan, a strategic initiative plan, or a financial plan intothe first decentralized ledger object; and automatically inputting datafrom the second decentralized ledger object into the sales plan, theinventory plan, the customer lead time plan, the new product developmentplan, the strategic initiative plan, or the financial plan. In anotheraspect, the method further includes automatically updating an electroniccommerce application using the second decentralized ledger object. Inanother aspect, the method further includes organizing a productioncapacity in pricing blocks using the second decentralized ledger object.In another aspect, the production capacity is within a productionfacility, a production line within the production facility, a productproduction across multiple facilities, multiple geographic areas or anentire company.

Time based pricing is an extension of independent S&OP plans ability toreconcile quickly and efficiently. A result of this new capabilityallows a production facility, a production line within a facility, anentire product production of a item across facilities or entire companyto organize their production capacity in pricing blocks and do as suchdynamically. To accomplish time based pricing, the owner of the assetsproduction of the product can offer to buyers a bucket/slot of thecapacity using the decentralized ledger object. The decentralized ledgerobject provides a method to request, for example, 10000 units per weekfor 10 weeks but 50 weeks in the future between weeks 40 and 50. Usingthe decentralized ledger object, the customer can transmit the requestand the owner of the production capacity (much like an airline making aseries of flight sin the future offered at a discount price) possible asa simple request. The owner of the capacity can choose to allocate therequested capacity or some subset of it, and can lower the price toreflect the owners reduction of risk in filling that capacity in thefuture.

It will be understood that particular embodiments described herein areshown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention.The principal features of this invention can be employed in variousembodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no morethan routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specificprocedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to bewithin the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims.

All publications and patent applications mentioned in the specificationare indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art towhich this invention pertains. All publications and patent applicationsare herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if eachindividual publication or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term“comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” butit is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,”and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims isused to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer toalternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, althoughthe disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternativesand “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used toindicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for thedevice, the method being employed to determine the value, or thevariation that exists among the fastener subjects.

As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (andany form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having”(and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and anyform of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing”(and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) areinclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecitedelements or method steps. In embodiments of any of the compositions andmethods provided herein, “comprising” may be replaced with “consistingessentially of” or “consisting of” As used herein, the phrase“consisting essentially of” requires the specified integer(s) or stepsas well as those that do not materially affect the character or functionof the claimed invention. As used herein, the term “consisting” is usedto indicate the presence of the recited integer (e.g., a feature, anelement, a characteristic, a property, a method/process step, or alimitation) or group of integers (e.g., feature(s), element(s),characteristic(s), property(ies), method/process step(s), orlimitation(s)) only.

As used herein, the term “or combinations thereof” refers to allpermutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term.For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to includeat least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is importantin a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB.Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations thatcontain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AB, BBC,AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan willunderstand that typically there is no limit on the number of items orterms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.

As used herein, words of approximation such as, without limitation,“about,” “substantial,” or “substantially,” refers to a condition thatwhen so modified is understood to not necessarily be absolute or perfectbut would be considered close enough to those of ordinary skill in theart to warrant designating the condition as being present. The extent towhich the description may vary will depend on how great a change can beinstituted and still have one of ordinary skilled in the art recognizethe modified feature as still having the required characteristics andcapabilities of the unmodified feature. In general, but subject to thepreceding discussion, a numerical value herein that is modified by aword of approximation such as “about” may vary from the stated value byat least ±1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12 or 15%.

All of the devices and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can bemade and executed without undue experimentation in light of the presentdisclosure. While the devices and/or methods of this invention have beendescribed in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent tothose of skill in the art that variations may be applied to thecompositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of stepsof the method described herein without departing from the concept,spirit and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes andmodifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to bewithin the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of constructionor design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. Itis therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above maybe altered or modified and all such variations are considered within thescope and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the protection soughtherein is as set forth in the claims below.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems andapparatuses described herein without departing from the scope of theinvention. The components of the systems and apparatuses may beintegrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems andapparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Themethods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps maybe performed in any suitable order.

To aid the Patent Office, and any readers of any patent issued on thisapplication in interpreting the claims appended hereto, applicants wishto note that they do not intend any of the appended claims to invokeparagraph 6 of 35 U.S.C. § 112 as it exists on the date of filing hereofunless the words “means for” or “step for” are explicitly used in theparticular claim.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computerized method for time-basedmanufacturing comprising: providing a first computer system comprisingone or more first processors; generating a first decentralized ledgerinterchange object using the one or more first processors, wherein thefirst decentralized ledger interchange object comprises a first datafield for an identifier for an item, a set of second data fields for aset of time periods, a set of third data fields for a requested quantityof the item for each time period, and a set of fourth data fields for acommitted quantity of the item for each time period, wherein the set ofsecond data fields are linked to the first data field, each third datafield is linked to a corresponding second data field, and each fourthdata field is linked to the corresponding second data field; generatinga first block for the first decentralized ledger interchange objectusing the one or more first processors; inserting the first block onto adecentralized ledger using the one or more first processors; making thefirst block visible to one or more second computer systems using the oneor more first processors; accessing a second block on the decentralizedledger, wherein the second block is created by one or more secondprocessors of the second computer system based on the first block; andusing data from the second block to create or modify a manufacturingschedule.
 2. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising:accessing the first decentralized ledger interchange object in the firstblock of decentralized ledger using the one or more second processors;generating the second decentralized ledger interchange object based onthe first decentralized ledger interchange object using the one or moresecond processors; generating a second block for the seconddecentralized ledger object using the one or more second processors;inserting the second block onto the decentralized ledger using the oneor more second processors; and making the second block visible to thefirst computer system.
 3. The computerized method of claim 1, whereinthe first and second decentralized ledger objects further comprise a setof fifth data fields for a price for each time period, wherein eachfifth data field linked to the corresponding second data field.
 4. Thecomputerized method of claim 1, wherein the first and seconddecentralized ledger objects further comprise one or more sixth datafields linked to the first data field, each sixth data field for one ormore terms and conditions, one or more specifications for the item, ashipping and handling price, a tax amount, a link to other data orinformation stored remotely, or a link to other decentralized ledgerinterchange objects.
 5. The computerized method of claim 1, furthercomprising: generating at least one cryptographic key for the secondcomputer system; encrypting the first block using the cryptographic key;and the cryptographic key enables the one or more second processors toview blocks on the distributed ledger and to insert blocks onto thedistributed ledger.
 6. The computerized method of claim 1, furthercomprising: inputting the identifier for the item in the first datafield, the set of time periods in the set of second data fields, and therequested quantity of the item for each time period in the set of thirddata fields into the first decentralized ledger interchange object usingthe one or more first processors; and inputting the committed quantityof the item for each time period in the set of fourth data fields intothe second decentralized ledger interchange object using the one or moresecond processors.
 7. The computerized method of claim 1, furthercomprising: generating the first decentralized ledger interchange objectusing data from a sales and operations planning system; and updating thesales and operations planning system using data from the seconddecentralized ledger interchange object.
 8. The computerized method ofclaim 1, further comprising reconciling and synchronizing the seconddecentralized ledger object received from multiple second computersystems.
 9. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising:automatically exporting data from a sales plan, an inventory plan, acustomer lead time plan, a new product development plan, a strategicinitiative plan, or a financial plan into the first decentralized ledgerobject; and automatically inputting data from the second decentralizedledger object into the sales plan, the inventory plan, the customer leadtime plan, the new product development plan, the strategic initiativeplan, or the financial plan.
 10. The computerized method of claim 1,further comprising automatically updating an electronic commerceapplication using the second decentralized ledger object.
 11. Thecomputerized method of claim 1, further comprising coordinating andsynchronizing one or more production arrays of data using the firstdecentralized ledger object or the second decentralized ledger object.12. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprisingrationalizing, synchronizing and coordinating two or more independentdecentralized distributed concurrent plans the first decentralizedledger object or the second decentralized ledger object.